Pet dog found with tongue cut out, stomach slit

A pet dog was found under a tyre with his tongue cut out, his stomach cut open, and his hair black from being set on fire in wasteground.

The dog’s owner, Bobby Katus, aged 66, of Priory Court, New Ross, Co Wexford, made the grim discovery with his friend on Saturday night.

Bobby and Sheila Katus have had Gizmo for 14 years since he was a puppy and he was a much-loved household pet, according to their granddaughter Symone.

Symone, 23, said her grandfather is in a state of shock and has not been able to sleep after finding his dog.

Gizmo went missing in New Ross on Wednesday and Bobby was brought to a site where Gizmo’s body had been found.

Gizmo’s remains were hidden under a tyre. Motor oil had been poured over him and attempts were made to burn him. On closer inspection, Bobby saw that Gizmo had been gutted from top to bottom and his organs were torn out. His tongue was also cut off.

“It is sickening,” said Symone. “My grandad is heartbroken. He just can’t believe it. He keeps looking at Gizmo’s basket for him to return to it. He tried all of the vets when Gizmo went missing but there was no sign of him. It was only through sheer luck that he found Gizmo.”

The 14-year-old dog woke Bobby up every morning.

“Gizmo was not only a dog, he was my grandparent’s best friend,” said Symone. “He guarded the house with his big man bark to compensate for his little body, ready to protect my grandparents from anyone he didn’t recognise. He would sit on my grandad’s lap and watch TV with him. He would climb up the stairs and wait to be brought to the shop every morning. He lay on his little cushion on the sofa every night happy to just be in the company of my nanny and grandad.”

She said the state Gizmo was found in reminded people in her family of how foxes are gutted by hunters to intensify their greyhounds’ blood lust.

“It wasn’t an animal, it was a human who did this as the cut was so clean,” she said. “Hunters take the tongue as a trophy.

“We’ll all eventually come to terms with what happened because that’s what you have to do in life but I don’t think I’ll ever forgive anyone for how upset my grandad is over this.”

Sergeant Eddie Wilde said gardaí are investigating the circumstances surrounding Gizmo’s death, which he described as malicious and terrible.

“We are appealing to witnesses and hope people come to us,” Sgt Wilde said.